WILL FILIPINOS TAKE THE FREE CASH OR DOUBLE IT? A Social Experiment

Pea runs a social experiment at Valencia Plaza in Negros Oriental, offering people a choice: take the free cash or double it for the next stranger. Unlike similar experiments in the U.S. where the money rarely doubles more than three or four times, Filipino participants repeatedly chose generosity — even those who clearly could have used the money themselves.

The setup and location: Valencia Plaza, Negros Oriental ​

• An open-air market that's part eatery, part flea market, part carnival — vendors sell locally grown produce, fresh fruits and vegetables, live animals (chickens, bunnies, guinea pigs), and all kinds of street food
• Pea notes you have to kill your own chicken if you want chicken soup — "Lucy, you have to kill your own chicken"
• She highlights the international food scene: Vietnamese banh mi, Mexican-inspired food, Filipino home-cooked meals, crab dishes, burgers, and a drink called "cider cooler"
• She references similar experiments done in the U.S. where the money rarely doubled more than 3-4 times before someone grabbed it, and wonders how Filipinos will compare

Round 1: From 20 pesos to 160 — then grabbed ​

• First person (a vendor): offered 20 pesos, chooses to double it for the next person
• Second person ("Ate"): offered 40 pesos, doubles it
• Third person (Maya, visiting the plaza to eat): offered 80 pesos, doubles it to 160
• Pea is visibly surprised that nobody has taken the money yet
• Fourth person (Flory, a grandmother with her granddaughters): offered 160 pesos, takes it — she's going to buy snacks for her grandchildren
• Pot resets to 20 pesos

Round 2: Recognized by fans, quick grab at 80 ​

• A group of friends recognize Pea as a YouTuber — "The Filipina Pea! You talk about foreigners!" — they already know the social experiment format and choose to double the 20 pesos
• Next person (a woman shopping for camote/sweet potatoes with her mother): offered 40 pesos, doubles it, saying the next person might need it more — Pea calls her "very very generous"
• Next person: takes the 80 pesos
• Pot resets again

Extended detour: Pea meets Maricel at an "okay okay store" (clothing stall) ​

• Pea spots a woman she declares "the prettiest girl I've ever seen in my life" — Maricel, 27, from Cebu, married to a foreigner (Canadian connections mentioned)
• Maricel says she's camera shy; Pea gushes over her and says she's proud of her "Philippine sister"
• Pea gets sidetracked from the experiment, calling it "just being a girl" and jokes "sue me"
• She floats doing an exclusive interview with Maricel later
• Maricel participates in the experiment: doubles the 20 pesos

Round 3: Students are generous, the pot climbs again ​

• A woman roaming the market doubles 40 pesos
• A man takes 80 pesos — pot resets
• Rands (17, senior high student): doubles 20 pesos
• Anthony (21, studying Education major in English at "Costco"/a local college): doubles 40 pesos — "just give it to the other person"
• Jolly (19, STI College student): takes 80 pesos — says she'll treat her friends with it

Round 4: The big climb to 640 pesos ​

• "Kuya" at 20 pesos: doubles it
• Sheila (26, single): doubles 40 pesos — Pea comments she's "so generous and so pretty"
• Tim (American expat looking for cigars for a friend in the States): offered 80 pesos, doubles it. When asked why, he says "just feel like that's a good thing to do." Pea and Tim bond over the misconception that foreigners are rich — Tim says "I'm just an average working guy" and jokes that money doesn't "fall out of the sky"
• Ate Maribel (single mother, one son age 19, already a grandmother): offered 160 pesos, doubles it — Pea calls her "a hot grand mama" and is impressed by her generosity
• Kuya Louise (47, fruit vendor, looks much younger): offered 320 pesos, doubles it. His reason: he already has an income and wants to help other people. Pea is shocked. His joke about looking youthful: "the secret is to have a younger wife"
• Ate Vivian (44, street sweeper in Dumaguete City, married with 5 kids, youngest 7 months old): offered 640 pesos — she takes it. Pea tells her to thank Kuya Louise who doubled before her

Pea's takeaway ​

• She's genuinely surprised and happy at how generous the participants were — the pot climbed far higher than she expected
• Her closing line challenges the stereotype: "Who said that Filipinos aren't generous?"
• She raised the money to 640 pesos and says she might do the experiment again in the future
• Ends with her signature Gilligan's Island-themed outro, comparing herself to Marianne

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